Star-San vs. Iodophor - FIGHT!

[rugman]

i have both from but i favor star san

 

[PTisch]

I have used Iodophor exclusively for over two years. I have used it for that long only because I saw it was cheaper than Star-San. Then I joined this forum and read that you can store and reuse Star-San for months. Can't do that with Iodophor. I just bought my first bottle of Star-San yesterday. I haven't used it yet, so I can't give my opinion on which I prefer.

The fact that Iodophor stains equipment doesn't matter. Who cares if your equipment is stained. As long as it is clean and produces quality beer, don't fret. No one who drinks it will even see the stained buckets and tubing, nor care.

 

[ajmartinez]

I bought Iodophor because it was there, and I remembered seeing it mentioned in a positive light here. Then I listened to about 9 hours worth of brewing podcasts while I drove to and from my ranch for a depressingly unsuccessful end-of-general-season deer hunt. The (one of the, anyway) dude from Five Star was on and did a pretty in depth conversation about both cleaning and sanitizing. I'll use up this bottle of Iodophor and if Star San happens to be available when the Iodophor needs replacing, I'll have no qualms about using either - which was the general message sent by those with far more knowledge about the chemistry of these two chemical cleaners than I'll ever need.

Use the right concentration, sanitize, and get your beer on.

 

[C2H5OH]

I like Star-San; for its non-staining properties, and I use it to clean my wood stove cast-iron humidifier as well. As soon as you pour it in, it immediately starts to remove mineral/scale buildup. Try it, you'll love it!

 

[ian-atx]

I use star san almost exclusively. I don't fear the foam, and I have gotten to the point that when I am draining out a carboy, when you get to the last bit giving it a swish to create a whirlpool will pull most of the leftover foam out. Same with getting it out of bottles. Also don't gurgle the liquid. The only thing is that it creates too much foam when you are using a sulfiter to clean bottles.

I use it for bottling, brew day, and other tasks. Although since I have aqcuired a CFC, i got some iodophor for that, to leave it in the chiller when not in use since star san can apparently be corrosive if left for periods of time. So far so good.

 

[Stuntman]

I only have used B-T-F Iodophore. Cheap, and does the job. I have never had sanitation issues in 6 years of brewing. Did notice when first brewing that not rinsing leaves bad taste in beer, so now I rinse with city water. I figure there has to be enough chlorine in city water to keep the bacteria at bay.

Didn't vote since I have never used star san.

 

[RushN24]

I just came across a really old thread where it had been established that Iodophor, when not being used for sanitation, can even be use for the starch conversion test...Star San however makes a kick a$$ paper weight when your not using it for sanitation, take that Star San

 

[Fordude]

I have been using 1 step since about 1997. I recently switched to Iodaphor mainly because of cost (I brew every 2 weeks or so with friends).

Last night I mixed up some in one of my 5 gallon buckets in the basement and noticed pretty quickly that my eyes were burning. Once I got the bucket filled to the 5 gallon mark, the burning stopped.

I have never noticed this before, however I almost always mix this in the garage or outdoors.

Has anyone else ever noticed this? Maybe this is a case for me to switch to StarSan....

 

[samc]

I have been using 1 step since about 1997. I recently switched to Iodaphor mainly because of cost (I brew every 2 weeks or so with friends).

Last night I mixed up some in one of my 5 gallon buckets in the basement and noticed pretty quickly that my eyes were burning. Once I got the bucket filled to the 5 gallon mark, the burning stopped.

I have never noticed this before, however I almost always mix this in the garage or outdoors.

Has anyone else ever noticed this? Maybe this is a case for me to switch to StarSan....

Never noticed that, maybe you had some residual chemical from cleaning in the bucket that reacted?

btw - i use both until I run out of one of them which seems like it will be years.

 

[Fordude]

I decided to email fivestar support on this and received a reply very quickly!

You must have extremely hard (high pH) water. Iodine based products can release a vapor if the pH is above 5. I have not heard of this. Can you see the vapor, or is it just an odor? The odor is fine. If you don't like the smell, I might suggest Star San, an acid anionic sanitizer. The other 1 setp sanitizers on the market might not actually be sanitizers. They may just be cleaners, like our PBW.

Jon Herskovits
Five Star Chemicals

He is right, the PH of our water is 7.5 right out of the tap!

Ya' gotta love the information age!

 

[bob1852]

He is right, the PH of our water is 7.5 right out of the tap!

Ya' gotta love the information age!

I really wouldn't consider pH of 7.5 to be extremely hard.

 

[steinsato]

I've noticed the "stains" iodophor leaves dissappear quite easily on their own. If your bucket is stained orange when you fill it with wort, it won't be orange when you rack the wort out of the bucket. I wouldn't call it a stain at all. Yeah, sometimes the odor can be detected and it does sting my eyes now and then when I pour large volumes of santized water from one bucket to another but other than that, I love the stuff. I don't think I'll ever switch to Star-San.

 

[springer]

I had to vote other I used BTF for a while then switches to Starsan now I will be using Saniclean its not that I didn't like Starsan . Stupid drunk me ordered Saniclean instead on my last order so I now have 32 oz of it. I don't have any reservations using it to sanitize

 

[osagedr]

Starsan works for me. Iodophor works for some people. Live and let live.

Hilarious how emotional a few people get about this debate--like they're arguing over whose kid is smarter. Get a life.

 

[bob1852]

1234567890

 

[SwampassJ]

I figure if Iodine swabs are good enough for me to stick an IV in someones arm, its good enough to sanitize my crap equipment.

 

[uechikid]

I use to use IODOPHOR. In fact I used it for years. The last time I ran out the guy at More-beer suggested that I use Star-San so I switch. I like Star-San better.

 

[Special Hops]

Been using Star-san for years. Bought a big thing of it years ago and and still have about 3/4 of it left. I am not sure what the cost is per batch but it's not enough for me to worry about it.

I love the spray it and forget it approach. very easy to use.

 

[Fordude]

I really wouldn't consider pH of 7.5 to be extremely hard.

You are right AZ, in a follow up email from five star:

at 7.5 I think you are ok. I would be concerned if you pH was above 9. That is not the case, so it is just an irritant.

Jon

Jon Herskovits
Five Star Chemicals

 

[eon]

I use Star-san. I love it. After reading everything on this thread I think I'm doing something wrong. I'll put the Star-san in my carboy and fill the carboy with water. Or fill the carboy with water and then put some Star-san in. Either way, After I let it sit in the carboy, I dump the water out and then just rinse all the bubbles out. I just rinse the inside of the carboy completely. Is this wrong? Am Rinsing away all the sanitizing goodies?

I hope not!

 

[Hegh]

I use Star-san. I love it. After reading everything on this thread I think I'm doing something wrong. I'll put the Star-san in my carboy and fill the carboy with water. Or fill the carboy with water and then put some Star-san in. Either way, After I let it sit in the carboy, I dump the water out and then just rinse all the bubbles out. I just rinse the inside of the carboy completely. Is this wrong? Am Rinsing away all the sanitizing goodies?

I hope not!

Yes, you're doing it wrong.

 

[400d]

Yes, you're doing it wrong.

terribly wrong

 

[Hawgbranch]

terribly wrong

Pretty much negating prior sanitation with rinse.

Don't Fear The Foam.....

 

[dvdanny]

Don't let it dry either, you lose 50% of it's capabilities if you let it dry. You should save the starsan too, I had a 2.5 gallon batch last about a year and the PH was still good. Although the way I store it is different then the way others do it.

I have 2 2.5 gallon buckets, I mix and store it in one bucket, and as I use it I pour the used starsan back into the other bucket. That way I am using the "freshest" possible starsan everytime (i go through a bucket every two batches). Once the first bucket is empty check PH of second bucket and repeat. Once the PH is unacceptable, mix a new batch.

 

[azterik]

Both will work just fine... just boil a pint or so of water to clean some of the foam/iodine off your equipment. This will even work well for the bleachers.

 

[Hegh]

I bought one of those 4-gallon water bottles for home dispensers, and after using that for brewing, I keep star-san made with distilled water in there. It lasts about a year at a time, but I drizzle a tiny bit of concentrate into it each time I use it.

 

[jfr1111]

Bleach and vinegar. Works for me.

 

[Reelale]

Starsan bubbles contain O2. O2 is no good for finished beer.

 

[SwampassJ]

Bleach and vinegar. Works for me.

Nothing like suggesting to others to mix bleach with an acid. I hope you're ignorant on the matter and not being a complete *******.

 

[EoinMag]

Nothing like suggesting to others to mix bleach with an acid. I hope you're ignorant on the matter and not being a complete *******.

It's a pretty standard sanitiser actually, you just can't mix them concentrated. The lower pH allows the bleach to be very effective in much lower concentrations than normal and it can be used no rinse if mixed correctly.